The humble side of Gus Johnson

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/sports/gus-johnson-is-eager-to-expand-his-horizons-at-fox.html?_r=3&ref=sports

I really enjoyed the above piece on Gus Johnson from the NYT. I admittedly don't know crap about Gus as a person except his broadcasting self, but I enjoyed finding out the humble side of him.

 

self-serving drivel. piece claims gus 'walked away' from his last 2 jobs, which he loved. um, in my world, when you've gone on record saying you want to continue but you're agent can't get the places (msg, cbs) to pony up what you think you're worth that's akin to being 'fired,' in common vernacular.

piece states that cbs chose not to match the fox offer; yeah, they let his contract expire, the agent couldn't squeeze cbs for enough, so they sold their services to fox, when he clearly would've preferred staying at cbs to contonue his notion that he's become 'the voice college basketball.' puh-leeze -- if those in the industry considered gus that 'voice' he'd have stayd at cbs forever.

what puff pieces the times puts out there now. i'd expect one of the n.y. tabs to give gus a crying forum. now someone at the times thinks, 'hey, isn't gus johnson popular with the younger audience? well, we're not so why not see if we can lure come future readers by doing a little more panderin.'

word is marv albert, my fellow geezer but still one of the most accomplished voices around, may replace johnson at cbs. if true, what a great deal for cbs.

 

Haven't read the piece but am not a big Gus Johnson fan. Still, you have to give the guy credit for his passion. He's clearly parlayed that into a nice gig at Fox.

 

Many young people, outside of the journalism world, think Gus Johnson makes great TV and hope he's calling a game when they turn it on. There are very, very few announcers that any fans actually want to hear. But for a sizable portion of the young demographic, he's one of them.

 

he deserves all the credit in the world for reaching the heights he has. i'm just relieved, as a viewer, that i won't be subjected to him anymore on ncca tournament telecasts.

 

there's no question gus has a following. just not the following advertizers chase. drinking games galore go on across the country when he's doing a game.

think many of these kids who love gus now will still love his schtick when they's all growsed up?

 

I actually do and I have a completely made-up theory, but here it is: People love the announcers they heard as kids because it reminds them of when sports were magical to them. It brings them back in their minds to the time when they were young and full of hope. People are afraid of losing the past, and so announcers keep their fan bases over time.

That's why, I think, Keith Jackson's departure from ABC was so hard for so many (and many of those people refused to admit he was a very poor announcer toward the end). The same goes for Vin Scully, Dick Enberg, Bob Uecker, Tony Roberts, and even PA voices like Bob Sheppard. They did it one way, and a generation finds that to be the right way. The next generation has its own voice, its own style, and they find theirs to be correct. But when it comes down to it, they are simply two choices in a world where neither is right or wrong -- just different.

My guess is that the young fans who love Johnson now will continue to do so, long after they reach 35 or 40. In fact, they will probably love Johnson particularly because of his excitement. Because THAT's what they will remember him for -- and THAT will be the hook to their past. They'll be longing for something that reminds them of the time they were 11 or 12 and watching Gonzaga beat Florida. And they will always -- always -- love Johnson.

But that's just my crazy theory.

 

You know who might be the best TV commentator in all of sports? Ato Boldon in track and field. He's fantastic.

 

1. Isn't the young male demographic pretty much advertisers' favorite?
2. I'm "all growsed up" and LOVE me some Gus.

 

Um, what? There is no group advertisers chase more than 18- to 24-year-old males. as his current fans grow up, they will stay somewhat fans, though maybe not as much; but the new 18-24s will gravitate to him as well.

Also I think you're off base in saying Gus was fired. It's more accurate to make the analogy to free agency, where someone like Jason Giambi says he wanted to stay in Oakland but they wouldn't match the Yankees' offer.

 

Does anyone really expect me to believe someone says, "I'm not watching the NCAA title game because Jim Nantz is broadcasting it?" As much as I detest Buck and McCarver, I'm still watching the World Series, dammit. Same with Nantz and Simms or Buck and Aikman doing the Super Bowl, or Mike Breen and Abbot and Costello on the NBA Finals.

 

I don't know if someone doesn't watch something because of who's announcing, but turning that around, there are people who can draw in a crowd that otherwise wouldn't be interested. If you're in the Bay Area, which I think you've said you are, you have to understand that Kruk/Kuip is a substantial reason the Giants have become so much more popular than the A's. There are other marketing benefits, too; when CBS runs its in-house commercials showing big moments, the soundtrack of those commercials is better with Gus.

I will point out, however, that I have made conscious decisions NOT to watch a baseball postseason game because of Buck and McCarver. They were games I didn't have much rooting interest in, but if not for those two I would have watched.